Iran Rejects IAEA Calls to Resume Nuclear Inspections

By Staff, Agencies

Iran has rejected the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s demands for the resumption of routine inspections, saying that expecting normal safeguards implementation amid continuous aggression is “irrational” and “materially impracticable.”

In a comprehensive communique circulated to IAEA member states on Wednesday, Iran’s Permanent Mission to the UN nuclear agency responded to Director General Rafael Grossi’s recent calls for renewed access to Iranian nuclear sites, saying the agency was ignoring the reality of an active war zone.

“The Agency’s expectation to carry out normal safeguards implementation while knowing the dire situation created as a result of continuous threats and aggression on Iran is irrational,” the Iranian mission said.

The document noted that the IAEA itself had acknowledged the security risks by withdrawing all its inspectors from Iran by the end of June 2025 for “safety reasons.”

Tehran also accused the agency of unnecessarily exposing “highly confidential information regarding the nature and whereabouts of Iran’s nuclear stockpiles” without prior consent.

It warned that such disclosures placed the facilities at grave risk while Iran’s adversaries were seeking potential targets.

The Iranian mission further accused the IAEA Board of Governors of being “instrumentalized by the US and certain European States” to adopt politically motivated resolutions.

It blamed the collapse of the previous “Cairo agreement” on what it called the “confrontational attitude” of Britain, France, and Germany, which culminated in a politically biased Board resolution.

Tehran also criticized what it described as the IAEA’s “glaring double standards,” arguing that no other country has faced prolonged verification while simultaneously being deprived of its rights and subjected to what it called “criminal aggressions,” including military strikes on peaceful, safeguarded nuclear facilities.

The communique said that despite repeated official requests, neither Grossi nor the Board of Governors had taken action to condemn the attacks on Iran’s safeguarded sites, which Tehran said violated the IAEA’s own statutes.

Iran concluded that safeguards verification could resume once the conditions of war and ongoing aggression are brought to an end, saying the ground would then be prepared for the agency to carry out its verification activities.